A Fair Giveaway?

July 25, 1989|By James C. Kellogg.

CHICAGO — Perhaps the euphoria over Sears` new battle plan has abated, and we Illinois citizens and taxpayers should take a second look and consider the fallout.

Some days ago a Tribune article considered Kenosha, which lost the Chrysler plant and jobs; and a company in West Virginia, which received special state support and failed. What determines when we should ignore capitalist principles?

Did Sears` management blunder when it established its existing deployment? Or was it a changing economic competitive environment? I can recall proud merchandising entities in Chicago which failed. They could not compete successfully. Sears retails all our lifetime needs-baby bottles to tombstones. It passed all the competition. Is the giveaway fair to competitors like K-Mart, Montgomery Ward and others?

It appears that Russia and China are trying a little capitalism. America is apparently willing to try a little bit of socialism. Neither bastardization can be justified.